Hello from Brasil!!

Hello Everyone!
Bernard & I just wanted to send everyone warm greetings from Brasil!
The sun is shining, the weather is fantastic and everyone is doing well. We've been having a great time site seeing and touring around as many different places as we possibly can -as well as visiting family & friends of course! =p
Right now we're in Rio de Janeiro and we've gone on a few field-trips since our arrival from Toronto, including a Helicopter ride around Copacabana, going to the beach and even catching a lightning bolt in the middle of the clouds one night! Wow! It's been one fantastic ride so far!!
Here are a few shots we've selected to show you...yeah, it was very hard to choose these few! The bigger photo on the top right is the lightning bolt I caught! Hope this brings a little bit of sunshine to your day! Just click on the collage below to enlarge it.

Happy Chanukah!!:

Just this past Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 I got the opportunity to photograph the Menorah Candle Lighting Event that was hosted by the JRCC (Jewish Russian Community Centre) at a plaza near Bathurst & Steeles in Toronto!
It was the first time we covered the event and it was an awesome experience! A little bit on the chilly side -as you can tell by the photos it was snowing a lot and the wind was rather strong too... Everyone was quite the trooper out there though! Thankfully we all survived!! =p
So I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Chanukah and Chag Sameach!!
To our Christian friends: Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!
All the best to everyone!!!!
I think this might end up being our last post for the year 2008 as our family is gearing up for a family vacation soon!! We will be leaving for Brazil to visit family and friends, so we are really excited to go! But don't worry, we shall return! We are to arrive back in Toronto on Jan.13th, 2009. Soon after our arrival -on Jan.15th, we will be photographing a wedding! So hang on tight, 2009 is looking busy and promising!! We certainly want to Thank G-d for His provision and tremendous blessings upon our family this past year and we pray that He might continue to bless each one of us in the years to come!
See you all next year...

(By the way, click on the collage below to get a closer look at some of my favourite shots from the event. Enjoy!)

Chaim Dovid Jenkelowitz & Rivky Wachtel: November 27th, 2008

Chaim Dovid & Rivky's wedding was awesome! We had so much fun with these guys -and boy, do they know how to party! What I loved the most about working with these two was that they were not camera shy at all - as a matter of fact, they would come up with the most awesome and creative ideas -especially Chaim Dovid! We simply had a blast!
The wedding took place at The Terrace in Vaughan and everything looked absolutely stunning! The decor was fabulously put together by my parents from Heavenly Flowers, and both the Bride & Groom looked stunning together! What else could a photogapher ask for??
Well, between my brother and I we took thousands of photographs, so we really had a hard time putting this slideshow together of just a few of some of our favourites! But we managed!! So just click on their photo below and it'll take you to their slideshow -Let me know what you think of it, okay? Enjoy!

Dap Thach & Dianne Park: November 22nd, 2008

Dianne & Dap's wedding was so much fun! These two were just fantastic to photograph! -And funny too!! =p
Their wedding was held at the beautiful DoubleTree Hotel right close by Pearson Airport. That was our first time there -it's a gorgeous hotel! There were tones of awesome spots for photos, so we took full advantage of that! We even went outside for some shots! (Yes, it was a little bit chilly, but it was worth it!! -hehehe....)
Bernard & I were really looking forward to photographing their wedding as they had a more traditional Chinese/Korean wedding with the Tea Ceremony and everything -it was really cool! Dianne & Dap also have great supportive family and friends who love them very much and it was just so awesome to be there to capture those special moments for them.
It was especially special for Bernard & I to participate in their wedding because I first met Dianne through Lifestyles Magazine! She was my "rep" who published my Weddings & Bar/Bat Mitzvah portraits in the magazine. And of all of the photographers from the area who published with Lifestyles, Dianne chose us to photograph her wedding! So this is a real honour for me to be able to post their wedding on my blog!
What I loved the most about them was that they were so easy going. We didn't have to worry about anything -even when things were running a little late! They had the best attitude! Afterall, no wedding is ever perfect and they understood that and went with it. And you know what? In the end everything worked out for the best!
So thank you so much Dap & Dianne for giving Bernard & I the opportunity to serve you -we had a blast!
Okay, so click on their photo below to view their slideshow. I just chose some of our favourite shots -and that was really hard to do because there were so many good ones!!
Anyway...enjoy!

The Flook Family Portrait Session: November 29th, 2008

Just last week Bernard & I got a really fun opportunity to photograph the Flook Family! These guys were awesome! We had so much fun!! =p It was a perfect day with plenty of snow on the ground and a beautiful park just down the street from where they live in Stouffvile -I couldn't ask for more! We also went over to the York Region Forest in Stouffvile -that was also a really neat place to go to. Bernard & I had never actually been there before, so we were really excited about it too. The best part was while we were finishing up the session, 2 gorgeous horses with their owners were just riding down the path we were on and so I asked if we could take some shots of the family with the horses and they said that as long as were quite and didn't scare the horses, we could! So we got some sweet shots out of that too!! Wow! It was simply a fantastic photo shoot! Here's a collage of some of my favourite shots of the day:

Zev Wasserman: October 28th, 2008

Alright! Well, we're trying something different in this post....can you guess what it is??

I've arranged the photos differently and into a Montage! Cool, eh? So this marks the very first post I've made with the Montage idea and I'm really excited about it too!!

Zev's pictures were perfect for this idea so I'm glad I've waited until now to try it out....I hope you guys like it -let me know what you think, okay?

Anyway, Zev's Bar Mitzvah took place at the BAYT Synagogue. We actually had quite a bit of fun with these guys-what a great bunch!! The Wasserman Family was all about unity -they did everything in unison! You should have seen them when I asked for them to take one step forward in one of the family photos -they all lifted their feet and took a step all at the same time, together!! I couldn't believe it! I think these guys did some kind of military training together or something....Just kidding!

Zev's a great kid -and very tall for his age too! Wow, he was just as tall as his dad (and his dad's pretty tall!). All in all it was a great photo shoot. Below is my lovely Montage with just some of my favourite shots that I hope you enjoy viewing! Click on the Montage to get a closer look at the photos and just use the Back button on your browser to return to the main Blog.

Shloimie Pick & Nechama Plotnick: October 29th, 2008

The following day after Dovid & Devora's wedding, we were at the BAYT Synagogue to photograph Zev Wasserman's Bar Mitzvah on October the 28th, but as you can see, this is not his Bar Mitzvah photos....that's coming up in the next post! I decided to post Shloimie & Nechama's wedding pictures first as they are anxious to see some pictures from their wedding (and rightfully so!). =p
So, on October 29th, Bernard & I were back at the BAYT Synagogue to photograph Shloimie & Nechama's wedding!
Nechama is a very sweet girl and we got some really beautiful shots of her. And Shloimie was looking very sharp & spiffy, so we got some good shots of him too!! They make a beautiful couple and it was an honour for Bernard & I to photograph their wedding.
The really cool thing was that Shloimie & Nechama are friends with Dovid & Devora (the wedding we photographed 2 days before on October 27th at The Terrace) and they were able to attend Shloimie & Nechama's wedding! So it was really nice to see them again too.
Anyway, I guess it's about time you saw their slideshow! So just click on their photo below to view it -Enjoy!! =p